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Personal Injury

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Personal Injury cases are what we handle from our Elgin office. We are not a large firm and do not advertise on tv or billboards. This means that you will get personal attention if we work together. But what exactly is a personal injury case? Do you have one? If so, should you hire a lawyer?

Personal injury means that your body has been hurt. This is usually because of an accident. In the legal context, it means that your injury was caused by someone else who can be held accountable. The someone else might be an individual, like a driver in a car accident. It might be a company, as might be the case if you slipped on a wet floor at a store. By accountability, we want for someone else to pay compensation. The accident cannot be undone, but there are many financial consequences when someone is hurt. The most obvious is medical bills. You might also be out of work. Who pays?

People with a personal injury case want to hold the accountable party financially responsible.  It is very helpful if there is insurance coverage because, without it, it can be difficult to ever see any money. This means that insurance companies get involved with personal injury claims. If the insurance company is not fair about it (and they usually aren’t), a lawyer may need to get involved to negotiate. If the insurance company still will not play fair in negotiations, a lawsuit is the next step. A court can decide who was at fault for the injuries and what should be done about it.

When injured by the carelessness of someone else, you want fair compensation and your questions answered. Help should come from someone who is on your side. Hint: Not the Insurance Company.

Located in Kane County in the City of Elgin, we are a trusted source in the Chicago area. The insurance company will try its best to confuse and trick you. They are not on your side. While you need may to cooperate at the appropriate time, talk to us before speaking to the insurance company or agreeing to anything. If you are looking for guidance from someone who is on your side and understands how to help, you are in the right place.

Delivering Peace of Mind After a Serious Accident

You are probably here because you have been seriously hurt in an accident. Maybe you are looking for information on behalf of someone that you care about who has been injured. We understand that at the heart of every personal injury case, is the person and the pain that they carry. We do not represent insurance companies and never have. We help the person who was the victim of someone else’s carelessness, the person who deserves a smart and compassionate advocate who will work for him or her. While we cannot take away the pain from your injury, we are here to make the legal aspect go as smoothly as possible. We understand that this is not where you want to be, but that the legal part of your recovery requires skilled attention. Let us help you become legally ready to deal with what inevitably lies ahead.

Personal Injury Cases We Handle Include

Let us Handle the Insurance Company

Before you speak to the insurance company of the person or company responsible for your injuries, please get in touch with us. No matter how nice the lady from the insurance company sounds, the person who works for the insurance company is not your friend. Make no mistake about it, their job is to help maximize profit for the insurance company at your expense. They are very well trained at their jobs and want to pay you as little as possible if anything at all. From the moment they get you on the phone, they begin to build a case against you. Be aware. Beware.

How can I afford a personal injury lawyer?

If you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid. No money is due up front. We are paid at the end of your case from the money that we recover for you from the at-fault party. Almost all injury lawyers work on what is called a contingency fee basis which means that our fees are determined by how much compensation you receive, usually expressed as a percentage. If you do not recover any money from the person responsible for what happened (or their insurance company), we do not earn a fee. It is also free to talk to us.

Following an accident, how do I know if I have a good case?

Not everyone has “a case”, nor do we accept every case.  If we are not the right fit for you or think that you may not actually need a lawyer, we will tell you and try to point you in the right direction.  Following your injury, it is always a good idea to speak with a lawyer who can help you decide what to do next. We are happy to discuss the matter with you and provide an understanding as to the direction we recommend. There are many components to a personal injury case and no ‘one size fits all’ answer.

Following the injury,  document everything that you remember about what happened. Write down details about what happened and how you felt in the moments, days, weeks, and months following the incident. Memories tend to fade with time. Share this with your lawyer in confidence. This information will be helpful in both evaluating and handling your case. You will also want to keep track of medical appointments, any time that you had to miss from work, prescription medications that you needed to take following the incident, and so forth. It is a very good idea to discuss these details with an attorney before you try to deal with the insurance company yourself. You can receive an honest assessment of what you may be facing.  This is often quite different from the spin put on the facts by the insurance company, which will do anything to protect profits.

In any personal injury case, you must prove that the other party was at fault (or mostly at fault) and that you suffered some form of damages, like a physical injury, as a result. We are happy to provide you with a confidential strategy session with the attorney, at no cost to you, to help you decide what your next step should be.

What is my personal injury case worth?

It is impossible at the outset to tell you how much your case is worth. If anyone tries to tell you how much your case is worth at the outset, run the other way because you are being lied to.  This is especially true when talking to the other driver’s insurance company. It is too soon to tell what an injury case is worth until the facts have been investigated and your medical treatment has ended.

There is an old rule of thumb that you may have heard about. The old saying is that injury cases are worth 3 times your medical bills, but this often has no basis in reality. Your case can be worth a lot more, or a lot less. There are so many factors to consider and there simply is no formula.

The insurance company for the responsible party, however, will be very quick to assign a dollar value to your case. They will be quick to throw out a lowball number with the hopes that you will take it if they know their driver is responsible. They want to settle with you quickly before you realize the full extent of what you might be legally entitled to. The insurance company will try to get you to agree to a number before you talk to an attorney. Do not trust the insurance company and never accept their first offer. They do not work for you. Their job is to maximize profits for the insurance company by paying out as little as possible to accident victims.

What can I be compensated for in a personal injury case?

Every case is different, but if you were injured by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to some or all of the following:

  • Medical Expenses, including ambulance bills, hospital and doctor bills, physical therapy and chiropractor bills
  • Prescription & over the counter medication
  • Medical Devices such as crutches or slings
  • Pain and suffering
  • Lost wages if you had to miss work because of your injury
  • Loss of a normal life, in other words, compensation for adjustments that you had to make in your daily living as a result of the accident or injury
  • Scarring or disfigurement
  • In cases of the wrongful death of a loved one, additional compensation including funeral expenses, etc.

How can I begin the Process?

At O’Connor Cadiz Accident and Injury Law, we work with seriously injured victims who were hurt by the fault of another. We help with the legal aspect of their recovery and are invested in helping obtain a fair compensation. You are not just another “case” and we understand how deeply personal these matters are. At our boutique law firm, you won’t find the “law-mill” mentality that exists at many of the larger law firms with a one-size-fits-all approach. As a small law firm, we are selective in who we work with and we get to know our clients very well – their story and their injuries, as no two cases are alike. Fill out our contact form and we will be in touch very shortly. Give us your story. If you prefer, call us at 630 250-8813.

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